


Heroes and a Lack of Hotdogs

by Meimi



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: Aoi probably is too lol, Fluff, Initial Attraction, M/M, Super Early Season 2, They barely know each other lol, but Takeru is thirsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-02
Updated: 2019-11-02
Packaged: 2021-01-20 19:24:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21286916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meimi/pseuds/Meimi
Summary: They've known each other for only a short amount of time, but Takeru is already the tiniest bit in love.
Relationships: Fujiki Yuusaku/Homura Takeru
Comments: 10
Kudos: 31





	Heroes and a Lack of Hotdogs

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm in the middle of marathoning the entire show to write down notes for my big fic, and oh my god, these kids make it way too easy. XD

Den City sure was busy, but Takeru liked it that way. It was a nice contrast to back home. Always something to do, and the sea was far enough away that he didn't feel any urge to go dwell over his problems. Not that Flame would let him, and not that he should anyway. He'd spent enough of his life wasting away and doing nothing, so much that he was sick of it. But here, in Den City, he could do something, he could make a difference. He _was_ doing something as Soulburner. It was such a great feeling. More than that though, he was _helping_ someone amazing. 

Lengthening his stride, Takeru grinned as he hurried on his way towards Cafe Nagi. He was running a little late, but he didn't think Yusaku would mind. Though he hadn't picked a club yet, Takeru _had_ stayed late after school to help out a few of the ones that looked kind of interesting. Den City High School was such a fresh experience. There were no preconceived notions about him to be found anywhere, other than the fact that he was a new transfer student. _No one looked at him weird_. So… he kinda just… wanted to make a good impression. It felt good. He might pick the Duel Club, it was an easy choice, though he'd have to make up another deck if so. Salamangreat was a little bit too conspicuous. Yusaku was also a member of the Duel Club, or so he'd been told, so that would work out great. Of course, he'd also been told that Yusaku rarely showed up, which fit with what Takeru had seen of Yusaku so far. 

Yusaku wasn't exactly a delinquent, not even close, but he did exhibit a few of the hallmarks: sleeping in class and not giving a single crap about his grades, for starters. It was kind of strange, to be honest. Yusaku was so laidback and uncaring at school, the perfect picture of a bored, uninterested teenager. And he was like that outside of school too, for the most part. It was almost as if he were half-alive most of the time, but then he'd come awake fully whenever he needed to plan for or be Playmaker. It was kind of eerie, really. Takeru wondered if that's the form Yusaku's own trauma had taken. It seemed plausible enough, but he wasn't comfortable enough with their partnership to ask anything of the sort. Not yet anyway, but hopefully soon. He… would like to talk to Yusaku about… stuff. It… would be nice to talk to someone who would probably understand in ways other people couldn't. But… not yet. 

Of course, none of that affected Takeru's stupid hero worship in the slightest. Sure, he'd been a little disappointed by Go Onizuka, and just the slightest bit put out by Blue Angel, but he still considered them heroes, no matter their _weird_ issues. But he didn't think anything would ever be able to dim the admiration he held for Yusaku. How could it? Here was someone who had clawed their way out of the Lost Incident, on his own by all indications, and had not only succeeded in thwarting the monsters of their past, but even appeared to have thrived off of it. Takeru hadn't even managed to get off his butt on his own. No, he'd needed Flame for that. Without Flame, he'd still be stuck back home, some derelict slowly floating out to sea. Instead, thanks to Flame, Takeru was here, right where he needed to be, standing tall beside his biggest hero. What a rush. 

Didn't hurt that Yusaku was _really_ pretty. Which, _yeah_, Takeru noticed. He wasn't blind or dead. 

Takeru slowed his steps as the hotdog truck came into view. It was so weird how Kusanagi had managed to hide absolutely everything about their operation in full view of the public. Super secret spy base that made hotdogs and coffee. Actually, now that he thought about it, the coffee was most likely a necessity for their extracurricular work, but the hotdogs were an odd choice. Hmm, maybe Kusanagi just liked them? They seemed easy enough to make, but Takeru had caught Ai lecturing Yusaku on how to grill the perfect dog enough times to wonder about that. How Ai would even know how to grill hotdogs appropriately, Takeru didn't know, and perhaps didn't want to know. _It's not like the Ignis had mouths!_

Yusaku was, unsurprisingly, napping on one of the cafe tables, but Kusanagi didn't seem to be anywhere hereabouts. Going up on his tiptoes, Takeru peered inside the truck, but there was no one in sight. Huh. The grill looked to be turned off though, so that was something of a relief. Takeru hadn't quite gotten fully integrated enough into Team Playmaker yet to know how to man the truck, so he had no idea how that thing worked. He would have had to wake Yusaku to do that, which Takeru did not want to do. Perfect opportunity to stare. Why in the world would he ruin that? There weren't any other customers to worry about anyway. 

Shrugging to himself, and smiling just a little too impishly, Takeru headed over to Yusaku's table, very carefully pulled the other chair out, and quietly seated himself opposite from the career napper. Ai popped his head out from Yusaku's duel disk almost immediately. "You're late," the Dark Ignis accused. 

Takeru blinked, then just shrugged. "Yeah, stuff ran over late at school." He didn't really know what to make of Ai. The Ignis acted out. A lot. To the point that Takeru sometimes questioned Yusaku's sanity. How did someone like that come from a person as reserved as Yusaku? Then again, how did someone as confident as Flame come from a coward like him? Maybe all the Ignis were the exact opposites of their kids? That sounded like a reasonable conclusion to make. 

"Yeah, well, he fell asleep," Ai grumped. 

"Obviously," Flame intoned. 

Ai, somehow without having a mouth, blew a raspberry at the other Ignis. 

Takeru just shook his head as the two started arguing in earnest over absolutely nothing. They were like little kids who couldn't help but get on each other's nerves. But they were friends, Takeru knew that much. Flame had even told him as much. According to Flame, Ai was a complete and total airhead, but he was also the most genuinely kind Ignis out of the bunch. Not that Takeru was ever allowed to say that to Ai on pains of his deck going up in literal flames. It was cute. They were cute. But also kinda loud. How Yusaku managed to sleep through that was anyone's guess. 

"Hey, you two," Takeru scolded during a brief lapse of volume between them, "Try to keep it down, we're still in public, you know." 

Flame froze, then straightened up. "Yes, of course, my apologies." The Ignis seemed almost embarrassed as he sank back down into Takeru's duel disk. 

"Eh, it's fine. There's nobody around," Ai waved a hand uncaringly from inside his duel disk, then pointed over at Yusaku, "and this big idiot is out like a light anyway. There isn't anything to do." 

"Yeah, but you're still out in public so you should be more careful," Takeru pointed out as he got comfortable and started doing one of his new favorite pastimes, watching Yusaku. And judging by how slow and steady his breathing was, Yusaku was indeed still fast asleep. Man, he really could just nod off anywhere, couldn't he? 

"Why does Fujiki Yusaku sleep so much?" Flame asked curiously, his single eyeball form blinking at the other duelist with obvious interest. 

"Ugh," Ai grumped, "Just call him Yusaku. I told you to do that already." 

"You told Takeru," Flame replied, "You did not tell me." 

"Ahhh! Why are you always so frustrating?" Ai groused, "Just call him Yusaku. There. I've told you now." 

Flame simply blinked at the other Ignis. "Very well. But you have not answered my question." 

Ai stared back blankly for a moment. "Oh. Yeah, I guess. Uhm," Ai looked over at Yusaku, rubbing at his chin with one hand. "He just doesn't get much sleep at night, so he makes up for it during the day." 

"Why doesn't he sleep at night?" Takeru asked before Flame could pipe up with something else. 

Ai just shrugged and said, "Nightmares." 

"Oh," Takeru breathed out, and… _Oh_. That put a new light on things. _Dang_. Here he'd been thinking Yusaku napped so much because he was bored and uninterested in most things. Which he probably was, but still. Nightmares made a whole heck of a lot of sense though. Takeru's own weren't exactly the kind to take lightly either, but they didn't disrupt his life the way Yusaku's apparently did. Most of his were just about him coming home… to nothing. Very rarely would he actually dream about the Lost Incident and what he'd experience back then, and yeah, _those_ he would wake up screaming from. But they only cropped up once in a blue moon. Guess it was different for Yusaku. 

Well, now Takeru was extra glad he hadn't woken his friend up. Though, he did kind of feel just the tiniest sliver of guilt at enjoying the view so much now. He didn't want Yusaku to suffer. He didn't want any of them to suffer anymore. And yet, the past still kept hounding them in one manner of another. It was aggravating. 

"Oh. Is it closed?" 

Takeru twisted around, looking behind him and found Zaizen Aoi doing a perfect impression of his previous actions. She was up on her tiptoes, peering expectantly inside the truck. "I guess so," Takeru offered, gaining her attention, "He's not here right now." 

"I see," Aoi hummed as she walked over towards them. "Usually he closes it up when he's not around." Once she was closer, she gave Yusaku a speculative look, then smiled cordially at Takeru. "Homura Takeru, right?" 

"That's right," Takeru said cheerfully, "And you're-" 

"Zaizen Aoi, yes," Aoi replied matter of factly. "So," she trailed off, giving Yusaku another look, "Fujiki isn't supposed to be on shift, is he? I know he works here sometimes." 

"Nah," Takeru shook his head. "Kusanagi just jetted for something. I'm sure he'll be back soon." 

"I see," Aoi said again as she continued to stare at Yusaku, which was starting to get a little weird as far as Takeru was concerned. "I suppose that's for the best. Fujiki's customer service isn't exactly the greatest." 

"Yeah?" Takeru prompted as he crossed his arms. 

Aoi puffed out what sounded like a little laugh, then gave Takeru an amused look. "He won't even smile. I teased him about it once and he just kept giving me this deadpan expression. You know the one, right?" Aoi blanked out her face, her eyes at half-mast and her lips dipping down at the edges into an almost frown. She looked like the epitome of a bored teenager. 

Takeru bit his bottom lip to keep from laughing. It was terrible, but also accurate. Yusaku really had mastered that "I don't care" look to perfection. The fact that Zaizen could also pull it off at will, just made it even funnier. 

"I can hear you, you know." 

"Ah," Aoi said pleasantly, "And good afternoon to you too, Fujiki." 

Yusaku let out something akin to a huff as he half sat up and leaned his chin on his left hand. _Wow_. Takeru could feel heat traveling up his neck as his brain thoroughly enjoyed the view. Yusaku was only barely mussed from his impromptu nap, but boy howdy, did he look _really_ good. The fact that he always kept his tie loose and his collar unbuttoned only made him look that much more appealing. 

"Did you need something?" Yusaku asked, and it took Takeru a second to remember that Zaizen was still there. Right right, he should probably rein his admiration in a little bit. Yusaku wouldn't notice, but Zaizen might. 

"Well, I did come for a hotdog, but I guess I'll have to catch him next time he's around," Aoi shrugged helplessly, still smiling. 

"Yeah, sorry about that," Yusaku shrugged back, "He got a call. Said it wasn't important and that he'd be back soon." 

"How long ago was that?" 

Yusaku just shrugged again. "No idea, I was asleep." 

"Of course, you were," Aoi sighed in mock exasperation, a smile still gracing her face. "Well, I suppose I should leave you two to it then." 

Yusaku blinked at her sleepily, and Takeru very sternly told his imagination to not run wild with that. 

Aoi turned slightly, then seemed to think better of it. "By the way, I've been meaning to tell you something." 

Yusaku raised an eyebrow slightly, which was probably something close to wild encouragement from him. 

"Yes, well," Aoi said hesitantly, clasping her hands together in front of her and giving Takeru a quick, uncertain look. Then she quite visibly gave herself a little shake and returned her attention to Yusaku. "I know I've thanked you before for helping me out that time, but I also need to apologize." 

Yusaku tilted his head slightly in what looked like mild confusion. "You haven't done anything." 

"Yes, I did," Aoi stated plainly as she released her grip and let her arms fall to her sides. "The first time we talked I just assumed you wanted something from me because of my brother, but I know better now. You don't want anything, you're just… weird." 

That got the hint of a smile out of Yusaku, which to Takeru, and by the look of it, Zaizen too, was like the sun coming out on a cloudy day. _Why was he so pretty?_ It wasn't fair. "I'll take that as a compliment, but I'm still not hearing any reason for an apology. It was an easy assumption to make." 

Aoi smiled back. "Still, I am sorry." 

"It's fine." 

Aoi nodded to herself, then seemed to realize where she was all of a sudden. "Well, uh, I, ah, should be going," she stuttered, sounding almost mortified and embarrassed. "It was good to see you!" 

Yusaku and Takeru both gave their own pleasantries as they waved her off. Once Zaizen was out of view, Yusaku squinted at the hotdog truck, then gave Takeru a rather unfocused look. _Oh, well, that was hot_. "I'm still tired," he muttered. And, oh boy, _he_ was sounding apologetic now. 

"It's fine," Takeru said easily, waving his hand in the air as if brushing aside a problem. "Go back to sleep." 

"But we were supposed to do stuff." 

"Sleeping is doing stuff." 

Yusaku glared at him, but it fell kind of flat with how weary he looked. 

"It's fine," Takeru said soothingly, "I don't mind. Kusanagi isn't even here right now. Go to sleep." 

Yusaku narrowed his eyes calculatingly at Takeru, then seemed to just wilt in on himself, and nodded in agreement. "Fine, but wake me when he gets back." 

"Can do," Takeru almost singsonged as Yusaku crossed his arms and laid his head back down on them. It didn't take him long at all to drift back off into slumber. Smiling fondly, Takeru propped his arm up on the table and rest his chin on his hand. Yusaku was very, very nice to look at, for sure. But he was also very kind, as evidenced by the way he treated Zaizen. She'd teased him and called him weird, but he hadn't taken offense. Takeru supposed some people would assume that meant he didn't care, but Takeru didn't think that was it. Yusaku hadn't shot Zaizen down during her apology, and he easily could have. He'd just basically acted like everything was okay, which no doubt put her at ease. 

Nope. Takeru didn't think Yusaku would ever stop being his hero.


End file.
